Jeremy Kurtz-Harris
Guest Musician
Bassist Jeremy Kurtz-Harris has a diverse musical background that includes solo, chamber, and orchestral performance. He is a prizewinner of numerous competitions, including First Place in the 1997 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition. He has been the Principal Bassist of the San Diego Symphony since 2004, which has also included performing for all productions of the San Diego Opera. During the 2015-16 season, Mr. Kurtz-Harris took a sabbatical from San Diego Symphony to play Acting Associate Principal with the San Francisco Symphony, where he performed as Principal Bass for the majority of the season. He has also played Guest Principal Bass with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
While many classical bassists focus entirely on orchestral performance, Mr. Kurtz-Harris has always been an avid proponent of the double bass as a solo instrument. His recital experience is extensive, including solo appearances in Houston, Memphis, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, as well as appearances at several International Society of Bassists conventions and Bass 2008 in Paris. He helped to organize a fifteen-orchestra consortium for a new double bass concerto by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison, and performed the work with the San Diego Symphony in March 2007. In addition, he has premiered and helped to commission numerous new works for the double bass.
Mr. Kurtz-Harris has performed chamber music at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, La Jolla SummerFest, San Diego’s Art of Elan Series, and the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. A graduate of the Curtis Institute and Rice University, his main teachers have been Harold Robinson and Timothy Pitts. In addition to his performing pursuits, Mr. Kurtz-Harris has been a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Bassists, and is on the music faculty at San Diego State University. His CD with pianist Ines Irawati, “Sonatas and Meditations,” was released in 2008 in partnership with Houston Classical Radio, KUHF.